The filmed version of this fully staged production, originally captured
during its acclaimed run at London’s famous Pinewood Studios and
specially remastered for this in-theater event, stars Donny Osmond
playing the title role of Joseph.

Presented in an exclusive never before seen sing-along version with subtitles for audiences to join in, this event also features an introduction with Osmond LIVE from Salt Lake City, plus a never-before-seen animated opening sequence which features an 80-piece orchestral overture.

Following the production, Donny will be back for a LIVE Q&A session, with questions submitted from fans from all over the country.

There have been sing-alongs for The Sound of Music for as long as Abq Jew can remember, which, at his age, isn't very long. Abq Jew hasn't paid much attention to these, because TSOM is just ... well, not Jewish enough for his taste. In fact, Abq Jew has never - since 1965! - seen the entire movie from beginning to end.

Netanyahu Promises: In a statement of major political and military importance, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged not to launch an attack against Iran's nuclear facilities until after May 29.

The reason: Madonna, the Queen of Pop, is scheduled to perform in Tel Aviv on that date.

New Facebook group asks Prime Minister to postpone any plans to a strike of Iran's nuclear facilities until after the Queen of Pop's planned May 29 visit.

Recent verbal exchanges and remarks concerning alleged Israeli plans to attack Iran's nuclear program later this year has Israelis scared, and not for the obvious reasons.

In a newly launched Facebook page, Israeli fans of U.S. pop megastar Madonna are pleading [with] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off any such plans to strike Iran until the Queen of Pop's planned show in Tel Aviv on May 29.

I will be performing my
song, "Der Meshiekh vet ersht kumen" (The Messiah will only come) with
the festival choir as the closing number of the Saturday night concert.

Abq Jew went to the Festival's website and looked around, and discovered an amazingly comprehensive biography of Reb Yosl.

Yosl (Joe) Kurland took up violin in second grade in the Bronx and for
years played only classical music. Later he learned guitar, singing the
songs of Pete Seeger and The Weavers and the Yiddish folk songs he heard
on Theodore Bikel’s records. (Little did he know the day would come
when he would be singing in Yiddish on the stage of Carnegie Hall with
Pete Seeger.)

While in graduate school in Chicago, he began playing for
international folk dance and performed with the Balkanske Igre Balkan
dance troupe. He was a founder of the Wholesale Klezmer Band in 1982 and
composed his first Yiddish song, the title number of the group’s first
album, Shmir Me, in 1988. His formal study of Yiddish began only after
he turned 40, but he considers Yiddish to be the native language he
didn’t learn as a child, a language in which lends itself to speaking
intimately with and about God.

Having grown up with traditional
cantorial music in the synagogue, he realized that in order to hear it
in rural western Massachusetts where he now lives, he would have to
learn and sing it himself. He serves as ba’al tfile for High Holiday and
occasional Shabbos services at two synagogues near his home. His day
job involves printing ketubot and other artwork designed by his wife,
calligrapher Peggy Davis, as well as his own photographic work. His
songs appear on four albums released by the Wholesale Klezmer Band. www.WholesaleKlezmer.com

At the two previous Shalshelet festivals that I have participated in I was delighted by performances of a wonderful collection of new musical settings for Jewish prayers, texts from Torah, Talmud, and Tanakh, as well as new texts in both Hebrew, English, and my own compositions in Yiddish. Styles ranged from traditional, classical, folk and even rock, and every one was inspiring.

The Messiah will only come when he is no longer needed,When peace will have spread over the whole world,When goodness has replaced all meanness,And it depends upon us to do what needs to be doneto bring the time of the Messiah.
In case you were wondering - the word shalshelet means chain in Hebrew. It is a rare accent for the reading of sacred texts that occurs only four times in the entire Torah.

And the lyrics? From Kafka!

The Messiah will come only when he is no longer necessary; he will come only on the day after his arrival; he will come, not on the last day, but on the very last.

An Alarming Report: The Jewish Week of New York reports that 92 percent of American Jews support the BDS movement.

BDS, BVD, whatever:
Most American Jews haven’t been
de-briefed on Mideast lingo.

A new and alarming AJC poll shows that 92 percent of American Jews support the BDS movement, sending worried communal officials into a tizzy.

BDS stands for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions and represents a serious threat to the State of Israel.

Prof. Steven M. Cohen, though, urged Jewish leaders not to panic, pointing out that most of those polled believed that BDS was a men’s underwear company, and thought they were supporting movement within the briefs.

“This reveals the level of Mideast awareness within American Jewry,” said Cohen, who pledged to launch a detailed study on the relationship between U.S. Jews and their undergarments, with an emphasis on the attitudes of young Jews in their 20s and 30s who, Cohen fears, are becoming more distant from their skivvies.

OK - if you' really concerned about IAW @ UNM, Tablet Magazine has published an article, Winning the War, that outlines some practical steps that the Abq Jewish community can take to counter the hatred. But in the meantime - it's Adar!

Remember when this book came out - shortly after the Six-Day War? (Yes, it helps if you're of a certain age.) Abq Jew lost his copy many years ago (but is willing to buy yours!), and considers So Sorry We Won one of the happiest, truest books ever.

Be happy!! It's Adar!! We'll soon read the Megillah, the Scroll of Esther. We know the story, and we know who wins in the end. Be happy!! It's Adar!!

Basic Jewish Values - A Summation: The mission statement of Jewish Family Service of New Mexico reads:
“Guided by Jewish values, we offer targeted social services that
help preserve and improve the quality of life for New Mexicans.”

What are these Jewish values? How do they help guide the day-to-day
work that we do at JFS? When new employees join the staff of JFS,
they are introduced to eighteen of these basic Jewish values.

Of the hundreds of Jewish values which guide our lives, I selected eighteen which are particularly relevant to the work of Jewish Family Service. Why eighteen? Because that number is associated with life; the word "Chai" has a Hebrew numeric value of 18.

When new employees join the staff of JFS, they are introduced to these 18 basic Jewish values; they guide our work. We've shown you the following Jewish values are and how they help guide the day-to-day work that we do at JFS:

Talking Dust Bowl Blues: Pete Seeger, may he live to 121 (he's 92 now), has always been one of Abq Jew's favorite musicians, philosophers, and political activists. Despite the fact that Pete and Abq Jew don't seem to have the same opinions about almost anything, they do share a love for the long-necked 5-string banjo.

Plagued by a degenerative neurological disease and facing his own mortality, America’s Father of Folk Music, Woody Guthrie, relives a handful of life shaping occurrences while waiting for his closest friend, Cisco Houston, to show up for one last drink.

In the article, there's a photo of a few well-known singers that shows Rob Tepper standing next to
Pete Seeger. Someone asked Pete if Rob reminded
him of Woody at all. Pete's characteristically terse reply: "Rob is
Woody."

When he was 16, I drove Rob from Bethesda, MD to Indianapolis (a town whose racist school system I had desegregated in the late 60s while with the US Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, so that he could play with his team for the Under-17 National Soccer Championship. On the day that we arrived, we drove around some of Indianapolis's neighborhoods and the schools, including Oscar Robertson's Crispus Attucks High School.

I have seen Rob play the guitar (self-taught) and soccer and football and, well, he is uniquely wonderful at all of them.The route of his journey to do all that he wanted to and could do, has been long, sometimes torturous and, most often, delightful. I don't know where in five years Rob will be along that route, but right now he is on his way to greatness. He is, for the most part, standing right next to Woody in the midst of a land that Woody called his own. It is important, I believe, to understand that Rob does not imitate Woody. Rob is a compelling actor who has invaded and mastered Woody's spirit.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

That's What We Want: That's also what we didn't have at Nonie Darwish's lecture at UNM last Thursday evening. Reasonable people may have different opinions, but Abq Jew says: They should express those opinions reasonably. Let's take a look at the parties involved.

First, there's Nonie Darwish. Born in Egypt, Darwish is the daughter of Egyptian Army Lt. General Mustafa Hafez, who died while leading covert attacks on Israel from Gaza in 1956 and was called a “shahid” by the Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser. Darwish blames “the Middle Eastern Islamic culture and the propaganda of hatred taught to children from birth” for her father’s actions.

In 1978 she moved with her husband to the United States, and converted to Christianity there. Since September 11, 2001 author and lecturer Nonie Darwish has written three books on women’s rights in the Islamic world, Arab-Israeli reconciliation and other topics relating to Islam. She has spoken at many college campuses in the US and Israel, appeared on TV interviews internationally and has spoken before Congress, the House of Lords and the EU Parliament.

Considering her background and theme, it is clear to Abq Jew that (at a very minimum) Nonie Darwish has a large axe to grind. Abq Jew encourages Ms Darwish to grind her axe someplace where others' oxen cannot be gored, and recommends that the UNM Israel Alliance do more due diligence in the future when presenting someone perceived to be a spokesperson for Israel's rights and concerns.

Next, there's the protestors. The original KOB report said "We're told some of the protestors were from the "UnOccupy" movement." Here is a statement from UnOccupy:

On February 23rd at 7PM, Three
people, including UNM students, were attacked by pro-Israeli members on
Wednesday night for mic-checking Nonie Darwish, a self-proclaimed human
rights activist who was on UNM campus to deliver a talk on the Arab
Springs.

Darwish cast the Arab Spring in a bad light. She argued
that democratic revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa, such as
those in Egypt and Tunisia, would not succeed as long as Islamists
controlled them.

A group of people, who were acting in
solidarity with the Palestinian people, questioned Darwish's
fear-mongering and her unqualified support for Israel. They were shouted
down by pro-Israel members in the audience, who assaulted a woman,
pulled her hair, and forcibly pushed another person over a row of seats.
A third person was punched in the face. Pro-Israel members also
destroyed a phone that was used to record the assault.

The
protestors, some of whom are UNM students and affiliated with the
(Un)Occupy Albuquerque movement, used "mic-checking" as a nonviolent
tactic to voice their concern against the Islamophobic content of
Darwish's talk. However, they were met with outright violence by members
of the audience, who did not want to hear what the protestors had to
say. Rather than simply wait for the protestors to deliver their message
and leave, as has been the case at similar actions in other parts of
the country, the pro-Israel audience members physically forced the
protestors out of the auditorium.

It is interesting that the
audience members who assaulted the protestors were acting in support of
Israel, which claims to be the "most-democratic state" in the Middle
East. Freedom of speech is an important part of being democratic, and it
is a tragedy that the pro-Israel members did not want to hear what the
protestors had to say.

In the original KOB video, the protestors use (Un)Occupy's ingenious and effective "mic-check" technique to shout:

Nonie Darwish speaks for Israeli apartheid ...

and genocide at the hands of the [Israeli army].

Abq Jew's View: Although the protestors may be "affiliated with the
(Un)Occupy Albuquerque movement", Abq Jew thinks their primary affiliation may lie elsewhere. One eyewitness reported:

I was there. The protesters
identified themselves as a Pro-Palestinian group for Peace and Freedom.
They were neither peaceful, nor did they allow Noni Darwish the freedom
to speak. They had the option to listen respectfully, and to take
issue with her during the question and answer period at the end. They
would have been heard, as were others. Instead, they tried to silence
her.

... participating in this years Israeli Apartheid Week from February 26th to March 2nd. We have a great list of events coming up and would love for you to participate in them! For more information on the schedule you can visit: unmsjp.org/iaw or apartheidweek.org.

Finally, there, the audience. Abq Jew's eyewitness reported:

I believe in the process of free speech, but what I heard from the protesters was bordering on hate speech. They need to practice what they purport to preach.

Abq Jew's View: "What we've got here is a failure to communicate." Communication typically involves both transmitting and receiving. The protesters were clearly transmitting a message that the audience did not wish to hear. But more importantly - the protestors were transmitting a message in a way that the audience did not wish to receive any message.

Abq Jew is inclined to believe that the forceful reaction of some of the audience fit the protestors' goals quite nicely. So what is an audience to do? One option would have been to let the protestors have their say ... and see if they then left peacefully. But we Jews have learned a few things over recent years, especially - don't keep silent. Never keep silent.

Still, Abq Jew abhors violence - on, he must admit, both moral and tactical grounds. In the words of another Daily Lobo commenter:

Epic PR Fail for the racist UNM Zionist alliance! Elderly men assaulting young ladies is never a good public relations move, especially in the digital information age! The video got over 100,000 hits in 24 hours, way to make the University of New Mexico look good around the world! I prefer the old school tactic of asking questions to get answers, over this new fangled mic check thing, but paid security should have handed evicting these ‘occupiers’ (Ironic) from a public forum on University of New Mexico Property.

The UNM Israel Alliance website provides the full and unedited talk that Nonie Darwish gave, except for the Q & A, which will be added later. The website states:

The Nonie Darwish talk had a big turnout and most of the attendees
were glad they were there, in spite of SJP and the Occupy people getting
together to disrupt the talk and prevent the speaker from speaking in
the name of free speech and tolerance. Several people in the audience
went to chase them out of the lecture hall, in defense of their own free
speech rights. The protesters took choice videos, lied about many
things and plastered it all around so it would become news. Strange that
these protesters were willing to serve as an object lesson and proof of
what Nonie Darwish was telling the audience: Criticism of Islam is not
tolerated, and following Sharia, others have no rights or freedoms.

The afternoon will begin with a panel discussion moderated by Ellen Zieselman, Director of Education at the New Mexico Museum of Fine Art. A display and sale of these beautiful, handmade Judaic items will follow.

The Judaic Arts Symposium and Sale is free to the public and all are welcome.

Friday, February 24, 2012

In Case You Haven't Heard: There was a vocal - some call it violent - protest at last night's lecture by Nonie Darwish, an Egyptian born American human rights activist.

Ms Darwish spoke at UNM on “Why the Arab Spring is Failing and how Israel is Involved”.

Ms Darwish has written three books on women’s rights in the Islamic world, Arab-Israeli reconciliation, and other topics relating to Islam.

She has spoken at many college campuses in the US and Israel, appeared on TV interviews internationally, and has spoken before Congress, the House of Lords, and the EU Parliament.

Abq Jew has confirmed that Congregation B'nai Israel Sisterhood and B'nai's Rabbi Arthur Flicker
withdrew their support for Nonie Darwish's talk after they learned
about her past statements, judged to be religiously intolerant and
hate-speech.

It started with shouts - and then people got out of their chairs to confront the protestors and things got violent. We're told some of the protestors were from the "UnOccupy" movement. They were there to protest the Israel Alliance event.

Things eventually moved outside and police were called. There's no word on whether any charges have been filed.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Parshat Terumah - A Fast Course in Civil Engineering: This week's Torah portion, Parshat Terumah, provides a comprehensive set of Do It Yourself instructions to the Children of Israel on how to build the Mishkan (Tabernacle).

As we all know, the Children of Israel had to do it themselves, since the Holy One, Blessed Be He, declined to get involved.

Abq Jew is glad that building the Mishkan was up to the Children of Israel, because (as with most new gadgets) he is convinced that the adults couldn't have figured it out.

Yes, Children, when you are young, the most important three words are "I love you." When you get older, the most important three words are "Enclosed find check."

But the most frightening three words at any age are "Some assembly required."

This week the Torah Reader (Abq Jew is reading some at B'nai Israel) gets to sing the DIY instructions to the congregation. Pay attention! There's going to be a quiz!

What would YOU build to house your most precious possessions? Who would
you hire as the architect? Furniture designer Rafael Kushick helps us
understand the divinely architected blueprints for the holiest - and
most confusing - building project ever attempted.

This is Episode
19 of the weekly Torah cartoon from G-dcast.com. Each week, a different
storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell
the story of the current Torah portion ... and then G-dcast animates it. What a terrific resource!

Many commentators have asked: Why does G-d spend so much time, not to mention ink and parchment, in describing just how things should be done?

Rabbi Cooper's insight is: G-d simply didn't want the Children of Israel - or the adults - to argue about this. Better they should argue about important things - how to live Jewish lives, how to fix the world - especially, how to fix the world.

Abq Jew is sure you'll love this film. All you have to do is remember:

The pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle; the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true!

But wait! There's been a change: they broke the chalice from the palace! The pellet with the poison's in the flagon with the dragon; the vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true! Just remember that!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Honoring a Remarkable Jewish Woman: Who was Dona Gracia? She was a 16th century Jewish woman, born a conversa (belonging to a group otherwise known as anousim or Crypto-Jews) who fought to save thousands of Jewish lives during the time of the Inquisition - and also made a significant attempt to start a modern state of Israel.

The Dona Gracia Project was created in the spring of 2010 to commemorate the 500th anniversary year of the birth of Dona Gracia.

It is the mission of the Dona Gracia Project to bring global recognition and honor to the memory of this relatively unknown woman, who is among the greatest women leaders of the Jewish world. Through multi-disciplinary activities, the Dona Gracia Project promotes the legacy of her leadership and business acumen, her commitment to her faith, and her sense of responsibility to those in need.

The Dona Gracia Project's very first worldwide commemoration of Dona Gracia was held on June 6, 2010, at the Brotherhood Synagogue in Gramercy Park, New York. Before an audience of almost 200 people, Project leaders were presented with a proclamation from the City Council of New York declaring that day to be "Dona Gracia Day." A Kaddish prayer was said in her honor for the very first time in 500 years. A year later, on June 12, 2011, a similar festival and proclamation took place at Congregation Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia.

Abq Jew was made aware of the Dona Gracia Project through New Mexico's own Sonya Loya, a great storyteller with a great story to tell. A recent presenter at the Albuquerque JCC's A Taste of Honey, Sonya Loya will be discussing her personal journey of faith at Temple Beth El in Riverside, California, this Sunday.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

From Solomon Schechter Day School & NM Jewish Historical Society: Just a quick reminder of three (3) approaching events and one (1) deadline.

First: The Solomon Schechter Day School of Albuquerque will be holding an Information Session TONIGHT. Abq Jew (an occasional substitute teacher at SSDS Abq) strongly recommends that you check this out!

In the coming days and weeks, the SSDS Abq will be presenting a two-part Speaker Series: Promoting Literacy at Home on February 23 (Ms Chari Ritchie is a former ATF Teacher of the Year); and The Inner Meaning of Passover on March 25 (Rabbi Stephen Landau is a great teacher and Abq Jewish resource).

Monday, February 20, 2012

The City of Los Angeles: Well, it's Monday. A Taste of Honey and KlezmerQuerque have come and gone ... so it's time for Abq Jew to get back to what may be called normal life in the Duke City.

But before we do ... ATOH and KlezmerQuerque brought us many visitors from in-state and from out-of-state, and Abq Jew wishes to recognize those who came from another state entirely - California. And, in particular, those who came from the wonderland known as El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles (The Town of the Queen of the Angels). Or, as we call it, L.A.

Just the name "L.A." brings wonderful memories of warm, sunny days at the beach, the water cold enough to freeze your ... self, and the sand whipping and getting into pores and crevices you didn't even know you had.

But mostly, Abq Jew remembers driving around the better parts of L.A. and seeing houses built like the one above.

First of all - this house (and its builders) should be arrested for indecent exposure. By which Abq Jew means - neighbors and innocent passersby shouldn't have to look at your plumbing. Couldn't this house (and its builders) do something to cover up its underparts?

And second - how do the occupants of this house (and the house does have occupants) sleep at night? It is said that there are only two seasons in Southern California: summer, when the houses are on fire; and winter (the "rainy season"), when the houses are sliding down the hillsides. To which Abq Jew must add a third: earthquake season. It's always earthquake season in So Cal.

Abq Jew proudly informs his discerning readers that indeed, yes there is. Actually, there's a zillion of them, of which The Mamas & The Papas' Twelve Thirty has always been a favorite. But never mind that now.

The La Brea Tar Pits (or Rancho La Brea Tar Pits) are a cluster of tar pits around which Hancock Park was formed, in the urban heart of Los Angeles. Asphaltum or tar (brea in Spanish) has seeped up from the ground in this area for tens of thousands of years. The tar is often covered with dust, leaves, or water. Over many centuries, animals that came became trapped in the tar, and were preserved as bones. The George C. Page Museum is dedicated to researching the tar pits and displaying specimens from the animals that died there. The La Brea Tar Pits are now a registered National Natural Landmark.

And with that - here is Dr Demento's version (amazingly, there are others) of the Felix Figueroa hit, "Pico and Sepulveda." Named for one of L.A.'s best-known intersections, and with several subtle mentions of the La Brea Tar Pits.

Where does Abq Jew find this stuff? How does he even know what to look for?

Saturday February 18 @ 10:00 am - Noon: FREE & OPEN TO ALLShabbos Koydesh Service - using traditional nusach, nigunnim and joyous melodies... Music led by cantorial soloist Beth Cohen with Alavados Holy Days band & chaverim, with teachings & kavannot given by Rabbi Deborah Brin - Nahalat Shalom’s Rabbi. Service followed by a short Oneg (kiddush & snack).

Joel Rubin has long been considered by many to be the leading performer of Jewish instrumental klezmer music in the world today, earning accolades from sources as diverse as klezmer giants Dave Tarras and Max Epstein, international clarinet soloist Richard Stoltzman, avant garde composer John Zorn, and Nobel Prize Laureate and poet Roald Hoffmann. He studied with Stoltzman and Kalmen Opperman, attended the California Institute of the Arts and received a BFA from the State University of New York at Purchase.

Rubin holds a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from City University (London) for his pioneering work on improvisation and ornamentation in klezmer clarinet music. He is currently Assistant Professor and Director of Music Performance at the University of Virginia’s McIntire Department of Music. He has concertized throughout Europe, North America and Asia since the 1980s. In addition to appearances with traditional performers such as the Epstein Brothers, Moshe “Moussa” Berlin, Seymour Rexsite and Miriam Kressyn, Leon Schwartz, Sid Beckerman, Pete Sokolow, Danny Rubinstein, Ben Bazyler, and Leopold Kozlowski, Rubin was the founder and clarinetist of some of the most internationally respected klezmer ensembles, including the pioneering revival group Brave Old World. Rubin’s albums Midnight Prayer (Traditional Crossroads), Beregovski’s Khasene (Beregovski’s Wedding), Bessarabian Symphony, Zeydes un Eyniklekh (Grandfathers and Grandsons) and Hungry Hearts are considered to be masterpieces of classical Eastern European and American Jewish music.

His music can be heard in several films, including the recent L’armée du crime (France, 2009), and the award-winning documentary portrait A Tickle in the Heart (Germany/Switz./USA 1996) about the Epstein Brothers Orchestra.

Pete Rushefsky is Executive Director of the Center for Traditional Music and Dance, a New York not-for-profit dedicated to preserving and nurturing the performing arts traditions of immigrant and ethnic communities. He is also a leading revivalist of the tsimbl (small Eastern European Jewish hammered dulcimer), one of a handful of young klezmer musicians to use field and archival research in recreating a performance style for the instrument.

Rushefsky performs and records with some of the leading performers of contemporary klezmer and Yiddish music, including violinists Alicia Svigals and Steven Greenman, flutist Adrianne Greenbaum, clarinetist Michael Winograd, and vocalist Rebecca Kaplan. A popular instructor at KlezKamp and KlezKanada who has performed across North America and Europe, Pete is also the author of a pioneering instructional book on adapting the American 5-string banjo for klezmer. He is a well-known lecturer on klezmer and other traditional musics and has a number of published articles to his credit.

Steven Greenmanis
recognized internationally as one of the finest practitioners,
composers and teachers of traditional East European Jewish klezmer
violin music in the world today. He has self-produced two landmark
recordings documenting his original Jewish and klezmer compositions with Stempenyu’s Dream (2004) and Stempenyu’s Neshome (2010), the latter containing his original Jewish spiritual melodies.

A co-founder of the Khevrisa
ensemble with cimbalist and historian Walter Zev Feldman Steven is also
co-producer and lead performer of the recording Khevrisa-European Klezmer Music on
the Smithsonian Folkways label. Steven has performed internationally
with notable klezmer ensembles Stempenyu’s Dream, Khevrisa, the Joel
Rubin Jewish Music Ensemble, the Klezmatics, Budowitz, the Flying
Bulgar Klezmer Band, Kapelye, Di Tsvey (The Greenman/Rushefsky duo) and
the Steven Greenman Klezmer Ensemble.

In addition to klezmer music Steven is an accomplished performer of Hungarian nota, Romanian lautari music and urban East European Gypsy music and is a performer with the ensemble Harmonia.

As a concert performer Steven has
been a guest soloist with the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, the Canton
Symphony and the Akron Symphony performing his own arrangements of
traditional East European Gypsy violin music and klezmer music.

Bruce Bierman: "Yiddish dance? What's that?" That's what most people ask me when I tell them I lead Yiddish dance for workshops, simchas and festivals around the Bay Area.

And who can blame them? After World War II, Yiddish dance was almost wiped off the map, along with the shtetls in Eastern Europe that danced them. With many of our grandparents yearning to shed their immigrant past, and with the great push to link the community exclusively to Israeli culture and education, Yiddish dance, by the 1960s, was almost completely stuck in the tar pits of nostalgia and relegated to Jerome Robbin's choreography for "Fiddler on the Roof."

. . . . . . . . . . . .

With a newfound passion, I turned my focus to learning more about the rich treasures of Jewish dance that go as far back as Miriam dancing at the shores of the Red Sea. From the ancient dances of the Yemen Jews to the mystical folk dances of the Chassids, from the spunky Yiddish dances of the Ashkenazi to the free-spirited and elegant Israeli folk dances of modern Israel — one thing became clear to me. Jews dance!

Still, it's Yiddish dance that makes me and others laugh for some reason. No one has to worry about getting any steps "right." The dances are all improvised on the spot with a few basic steps — just follow the leader! You dance with community, but you bring your unique self into the circle to shayne. If there is a meaning behind Yiddish dance, that is it.

So with great pleasure, I am happy to announce that Yiddish dance is back and looking marvelous — thanks in part to the tireless fieldwork of Yiddish cultural historians such as Michael Alpert and Zev Feldman and to my own master teachers, Steve Weintruab, Deborah Strauss, Felix Fibich and Julie Egger. Their burning passion to pass on Yiddish dance and culture to the next generation is a gift of spirit, spunk and joy that can never be extinguished.

I hope to see you all out on the dance floor to experience this new ... er ... old dance come alive again.

The Official Site of Dogs Against Romney, founded 2007. Hi, I'm Rusty. Mitt Romney is mean to dogs. Help me get my message out about the Mitt Romney dog on roof story. Putting a dog on the car roof is abuse. Remember Crate-Gate. I ride inside.

I have had many requests for a catch-all place for newbies to our cause to get caught up on the back-story behind Mitt Romney's cruelty toward the Romney family dog. Anyone who Google's "Mitt Romney dog" will find literally thousands of articles about it, but here I have collected some of what I consider to be the most succinct. Read these stories if you are new to Dogs Against Romney or, if you are a veteran member, share this link with your friends who don't yet know the truly revolting details of Romney's callousness toward poor Seamus, the Irish Setter.

Questions still remain about Seamus' ultimate fate - questions Romney has so far refused to answer.

Some 40 panels of the “Jewish Pioneers of New Mexico” exhibit, originally displayed at the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe (2000), are being shown as part of a pilot educational program for middle school students and future traveling exhibits around New Mexico.

Monday, February 13, 2012

If A Seagull Flies Over the Sea: Were you there when Keynote Speaker Michael Wex gave the Keynote Address at A Taste of Honey 2012?

Abq Jew was among the crowd - a
really nice-sized crowd - and heard almost every word. (He's sure he
missed a few words 'cause he was laughing so hard.)

Much of what Mr Wex said cannot be repeated - you really had to be there.

And some of what Mr Wex said cannot be repeated - Abq Jew's blog is intended for a family audience (sometimes).

But Abq Jew will tell you this: He will never reach to touch-kiss a mezuzah again without thinking of Michael Wex's definition of the term.

For those of you who were not there - you missed a good one. Not only was Mr Wex right on target - all the mini-course instructors were, too.

After presenting his own Tales of Rabbi Nachman, Abq Jew attended Janet Gaines's excellent presentation, The Heart of Ruth. Which meant he missed Shlomo Karni's 'The Days To Come' and the Messiah in Judaism; Naomi Sandweiss's Jewish Traditions under the Italian Sun; and many, many more.

Abq Jew wishes to thank the Albuquerque JCC's Phyllis Wolf and Robyn Weiner, and the entire ATOH 2012 Committee (of which he was a very small part), for producing this year's A Taste of Honey. How come we do this only once a year?

So - if a seagull flies over the sea, what flies over the bay? A bagel, of course. (Note: Michael Wex did not tell this old joke.)

And what does a bagel say? "Feh! Feh!"

But Abq Jew will tell you this: He will never hear a bagel (or a seagull) say "Feh! Feh!" again without thinking of Michael Wex's story.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

A Great Storyteller with a Great Story to Tell: A week before Chanukka began in December last year, Ruidoso resident
Sonya Loya was selected along with nine other Jews from around the world
to participate in the first Sephardic Storytellers Slam at the Triade
Theater in New York City.

Never heard of the Sephardic Storytellers Slam? Neither had Abq Jew - but you can read the New York Times article here.

You can read more about Sonya Loya here, in an article that recently appeared in the Conservative Movement's CJ Magazine.

But here is what you really need to know: Sony Loya will be teaching a course, Anusim and Crypto-Judaism, at A Taste of Honey. Anusim is a legal category of Jews in halakha (Jewish religious law) who were forced or coerced to abandon Judaism against their will, typically while forcibly converted to another religion. Learn about the worldwide movement from an insider with a personal perspective and story.